Hi, I'm PsiGuard and welcome to my Alistar guide. In this guide I will describe two methods of playing everyone's favorite rampaging bull: AP and Support. These builds are a result of experimentation and theorycrafting, and I have found them to be very successful in a variety of team compositions.

This is not a short guide, and I don't refrain from describing my reasons and advice in great detail. If you're looking for a way to build Alistar and don't have time to read my guide, simply consult the builds above. If you wish to learn more about how to play Alistar however, or are surprised at my choice of items, runes or masteries, please read on.

Please don't downvote me without reading the entire guide. If you find my build odd, I encourage you to read the reasons I give before condemning my choice. It is possible that these builds do not fit everyone's play style. If you do not like Alistar or can't use him effectively, don't downvote me for it.

This is not a jungle guide. If you are looking for a way to jungle Alistar, this is not the guide for you. Anyway, I hope my guide is helpful to you and I look forward hearing some feedback.

Thank you to all those who have critiqued or supported my build, and a special thanks to jhoijhoi for the review.

Legend

(for any abbreviations you don't understand)


AP Versus Support

Alistar is a very dynamic champion who works well with a multitude of items. Like many tanks and supports, he is not very item-dependant, so your build should always adapt to the enemy team composition, your own team's needs, and the flow of the game. There are two main ways of building Alistar: Support and AP. Let's examine the qualities of each.

Support Build


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Benefits



+Very high movement speed and roaming potential
+Stronger sustained DPS with Trinity Force
+Useful even when abilities are on CD
+Multiple active items and auras
+Auto attacks have a chance to slow target
+Very high CDR from items and masteries
+Very high armor
+Very high health and mana regeneration
+Gold/10 items help early income
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Drawbacks



-It's not a tank build
-Weaker heals
-Lower burst damage from abilities
-Less overall damage output
-Requires a good carry to support.
-Doesn't net kills as often as AP build
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AP Build


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Benefits



+High damage output rivalling an AP carry
+Higher burst than other builds
+Strong gank potential
+Powerful team heals
+Decently low cooldowns
+ Trample and Headbutt slow
+Panic button from Zhonya's Hourglass
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Drawbacks



-It's still not a tank build
-Slower movement speed
-Benign when on CD or out of mana
-Average regenerative abilities
-Expensive build
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You need to decide which build to use based on your team composition. If your team has low damage output, or lacks a strong AP carry, you may need to build AP. If your team has strong carries which need support, choose the Support build, it will help your team survive and give them an edge in team fights.


Masteries

With the arrival of the season two mastery trees, there are a lot more alternative setups available for every role and champion. I have redesigned my mastery trees and present to you what I believe to be the optimal setups for playing Alistar. Feel free to make some changes to the tree if it suits you; there's a bit more wiggle-room in the mastery setups than there used to be.
9/0/21

MASTERIES
4/4

4/4

1/1

1/1

3/3

3/3

1/1

4/4

2/2

3/4

3/3

1/1


This setup is similar to my old one, but makes use of all the powerful new masteries in the utility tree. The utility tree is still very much suited towards supports (perhaps even more than before), and Alistar is no exception. Use this tree to supplement a low-CS, duo bot lane play style. You could also use a 0/9/21 tree if you are looking for some more survivability, but I find the CDR from Sorcery and the mPen from Archane Knowledge are more beneficial than a bit of extra health and resistance. With the Support build, you get quite tanky anyway.


9/0/21

MASTERIES
1/1

3/4

4/4

1/1

1/1

3/3

4/4

3/3

1/1

4/4

1/1

3/3

1/1


This is similar to the support tree, but it has several adjustments to make it fit a more offensive play style. You'll be using masteries that are more suited to a solo lane, allowing you to take advantage of different utility masteries without the need for support-centered ones like Greed.


21/0/9

MASTERIES
1/1

3/4

4/4

1/1

3/3

4/4

4/4

1/1

1/1

3/3

1/4

3/3

1/1


This tree goes with the idea of the third build - to deal as much damage as possible. If you want to play Alistar like an AP carry, this is the setup for you. The new offensive tree allows you to spend 21 points all on AP and magic masteries, without touching any useless AD-focused masteries at all. You should definitely be in a solo lane if you use this setup, since you won't have nearly as much utility to compensate for a low CS.


Runes

Primary Runes



Greater Mark of Insight: These are simply the best marks there are for champions that do magic damage and I use them in all three builds. With the extra mPen, your abilities will pack a bit more punch. These marks also compliment Sorcerer's Shoes and Abyssal Scepter quite nicely if you are building AP. It's not too bad if you replace these with something like magic resistance or health, but I find that Alistar doesn't need the tiny bonus to survivability as much as he does the boost to his damage output.

A note on the Support build: Even though I get Trinity Force in my build, mPen marks are still a better option than arPen marks. The mPen marks are designed to give you a stronger harass in laning phase. Alistar has significant base damage on his offensive abilities (especially if you max Headbutt first like I do) making him a pretty mean harasser in lane. You won't often be able to complete Trinity Force, except in long games. By late-game, armor pen runes would be far less effective, since arPen is most useful against targets with low armor. Thanks to astrolia for the question!

Greater Seal of Clarity: I simply could not play Alistar the way that I do without these seals. Mana regeneration is an important stat, since an Alistar without mana is generally rather useless. The reason I chose Greater Seal of Clarity over Greater Seal of Replenishment is that Alistar's abilities become more expensive as you level them up. An early Doran's Ring or two, or a Philosopher's Stone should be sufficient until your runes catch up.

Greater Glyph of Shielding: Support Alistar has a great deal of armor, but is rather lacking in magic resist. These inexpensive glyphs will provide a helpful boost to your magic resistance. The scaling glyphs will give you a lot of helpful survivability for when you need to tank the enemy team late game.

Greater Glyph of Celerity: Since the AP builds focus on using Alistar's abilities to maximize his effectiveness, it's important to have as much CDR as possible to be effective in team fights. There isn't much room in the AP build for CDR items without sacrificing Ability Power, so these glyphs, along with your masteries and Ionian Boots of Lucidity or Deathfire Grasp, should help your damage output quite significantly.

Greater Quintessence of Fortitude: Since the Support build has both Trinity Force and Boots of Mobility, it is not lacking in speed at all. These quints are among the most powerful of runes and are found in many champion builds, so it's a good idea to have them in your inventory. These runes are not absolutely necessary, but they will increase your survivability and help you to have a stronger early game.

Greater Quintessence of Swiftness: Alistar requires a lot of speed to roam and gank effectively. He also needs to get close enough to an enemy champion to do his CC combo. Since the AP build doesn't have as much move speed, these quints are important if you want to maintain your mobility advantage without the MS items from the support build.

Alternative Runes


Greater Mark of Resilience: Some more armor if you don't want offensive marks.
Greater Mark of Warding: Some more magic resistance if you don't want offensive marks.
Greater Seal of Replenishment: Good if you have early game mana problems. These are more acceptable on the support build since Shurelya's Reverie gives a lot of mp5.
Greater Seal of Resilience: Nice for some more survivability if you can do without the mana regen.
Greater Glyph of Warding: A perfectly acceptable rune if you're laning against casters. Usually you'll be against an AD carry and a support in bot lane, so these aren't very necessary.
Greater Glyph of Focus: A decent alternative to Greater Glyph of Celerity if you prefer more CDR early game. You might not reach your CDR cap by late game though.
Greater Quintessence of Resilience: Armor is great against the AD carry you'll likely be fighting in the early game.
Greater Quintessence of Warding: An optional quint if you find yourself in need of a lot of magic resistance in the early game.


Summoner Spells

Top Picks



Flash: This is simply the best summoner spell in the game. It is useful on absolutely every champion and is incredibly powerful when wielded by a capable Alistar player. In addition to its numerous chasing and escaping functions, Flash allows to close the distance between you and your enemies instantly, surprising them and allowing you to use your spell combo on them. You can also Flash behind an enemy champion, Headbutt them, then Pulverize to keep them near your teammates longer. Flash is also the best way to initiate team fights as Alistar, which may be necessary if you don't have a good initiator on your team. I highly recommend this spell for both builds.

Ignite: Though Alistar is a support champion, he can still dish out a lot of damage both early and late game. I have netted many early kills thanks to Ignite and still more late game. Don't forget its usefulness against any healers on the enemy team, as debuffing enemies is another way to support your allies. Exhaust is a decent alternative, but since Alistar does mainly burst damage, there isn't much he can do after he uses his spells, and Exhaust gives an opportunity which Alistar can't take advantage of. This spell may be necessary if no one on your team has taken Exhaust and you need to disable an enemy DPS carry.

Clairvoyance: This a more situational spell than the other two and requires some map awareness to use effectively. I don't use it every game that I build Support Alistar, but there are many situations where it comes in handy. I usually grab this spell if our team has a jungler, so that I can keep track of enemies trying to counter-jungle, as well as give opportunities for my own jungler to steal buffs. Another trick you can do is to use Clairvoyance to spot neutral creeps or an enemy champion, then use Headbutt to dash through the wall. This technique can help to catch fleeing enemies, or make your escape when Flash is on cooldown. This spell takes some game sense to use, but can significantly benefit your team in many situations. Use it if you can, otherwise take Ignite.

Honourable Mentions


Ghost: Mobility is great on Alistar. This will help you position yourself for your abilities, and it's great for chasing and escaping.
Exhaust: Always good to have if your team needs it. Helpful for shutting down that pesky Tryndamere and can help set up targets for ganks. Pick up Cripple if you use this spell.
Teleport: A nice spell all around, but not terribly important for Alistar. Don't even bother if you build support, Boots of Mobility will be enough for map control.
Garrison: Better than the old Fortify, but still not an ideal pick in my opinion. This is probably better left to your solo top if your team needs it. Pick it up if your team demands it of you, or if you just want to try it out for yourself.
Clarity: Not necessary for yourself, but it can be nice if your team could use an infusion of mana every once in a while. Definitely pick up Insight for your allies if you want this to be worth the summoner spell slot.
Smite: A must-have if you're jungling, in addition to Flash. If you're not jungling, don't bother with it. Remember to pick up Plentiful Bounty if you use this spell.
Surge: I'll have to do some testing before I know for sure where to place this spell, but it seems like a decent pick for a tank or support champion. It could be quite an asset to your team during pushes and team fights.
Avoid If Possible


Heal: Often used as a crutch for newer players, it's completely unnecessary on Alistar. Triumphant Roar is basically a Heal on a really short cooldown.
Cleanse: Unbreakable Will has a built-in Cleanse function. The enemy team would be foolish to waste all their CC on you anyway. If you really need this, just get Quicksilver Sash instead. Even with the latest buff, it's still not worth the slot.
Revive: If you're dying, this will just make you die more. This spell is really unnecessary, since Flash would probably save your life instead. Revive may be useful on Dominion, since time and mobility are more important than kills and gold.


Abilities


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Trample (passive): This is Alistar's passive ability. Every time you cast one of your four spells, Alistar stomps on the ground for a few seconds, allowing him to move through creeps and dealing damage to nearby enemy units and structures. This allows Alistar to be a respectable farmer, since Trample deals double damage to minions and monsters. It also deals magic damage and scales off of Alistar's ability power, becoming an AoE DoT slow with Rylai's Crystal Scepter.
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Tips and Tricks:
Activating Trample will allow you to pass through minion waves. It's a great tactic for chasing, escaping and positioning.
Trample scales off of Ability Power. Using abilities to proc Trample with an AP build will let you do powerful area damage during a team fight, or push down a tower very quickly.
Remember to space out your abilities when possible. This will refresh Trample and give you more procs from Sheen, Lich Bane, or Trinity Force.

Pulverize (Q): This ability knocks nearby enemies into the air, incapacitating them for a moment, then stunning them upon landing. This ability is generally used defensively to disable enemy champions, aggressively to set up ganks, or for major disruption in team fights. Though this ability deals a respectable amount of damage, especially with the AP build, its main function is the knockup and stun, which are available at level one. Be sure to get at least one point in Pulverize early game.
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Tips and Tricks:
Hiding in brush can allow you to Pulverize enemies before they can escape.
Using Pulverize after Flash is great for surprise initiations.
The knock-up component of Pulverize cannot be reduced by tenacity or removed by Cleanse, Quicksilver Sash, Triumphant Roar or Remove Scurvy.

Headbutt (W): This is Alistar's primary damage ability. Alistar dashes forward dealing significant damage to a single enemy and knocking the target backwards. In addition to the damage, use this ability to knock enemy champions out of position, away from team fights, or into your allies. Be careful when using this ability, as the knockback can be helpful to your target if s/he is retreating.
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Tips and Tricks:
Headbutt can also be used to dash through some walls, or knock enemies through them. Use wards or Clairvoyance to spot a target on the other side of a wall.
You can use Headbutt on enemy minions or neutral creeps as a makeshift dash. It's a great way to chase or escape.
Headbutting an enemy into the wall will allow you to close the distance and set up a Pulverize.
Using Headbutt on a melee champion with strong CC to knock them out of a team fight can be more effective than targeting a carry.
Use Headbutt on Jarvan IV when he uses Cataclysm to save your teammates from being singled out.
Save one of your CC abilities to interrupt powerful channeling ultimates like Absolute Zero, Crowstorm, Requiem, and Death Lotus.
You can use Pulverize just as you land Headbutt in order to deal the damage of both abilities without knocking the target backwards. This is a great technique for chasing or initiating, but takes some precision, so you may want to practice this in a custom game before you start using it in PvP.

Triumphant Roar (E): This is Alistar's heal ability. It heals you for a small amount, as well as half that amount to nearby allies. Every time a nearby enemy unit dies, Triumphant Roar's cooldown is reduced by 2 seconds, allowing you to cast it very often. This ability is used most effectively to heal yourself and allied champions, push lanes and turrets, and damage groups of enemies with Trample. It is also a useful ability for proccing Sheen, Trinity Force, or Lich Bane.
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Tips and Tricks:
Triumphant Roar is a great way to proc Trample in team fights, as well as giving Sheen, Lich Bane or Trinity Force procs very often.
Spamming Triumphant Roar is a great way to push down towers. It will keep you and your minions healed up while Trample deals damage to the tower.
Triumphant Roar may only heal for a small amount, but it can save your life, or the lives of your allies. Use this ability often to keep your allies sustained in a team fight.

Unbreakable Will (R): Alistar's ultimate is what allows him to tank champions and towers so effectively. Even with few defensive items, an Alistar who's used Unbreakable Will is very difficult to kill. In addition to the massive damage reduction, using this ability also functions like Cleanse, removing crowd control effects other than suppression. Use this ability when you are focused, ganked, or when you are tanking a tower. The Attack Damage bonus shouldn't be ignored either.
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Tips and Tricks:
Unbreakable Will is a great way to initiate a tower dive alone or with teammates.
The bonus AD can help you deal a lot of damage in team fights, or push a tower down very quickly.
Don't just use Unbreakable Will when you're low on health. It's more effective to activate it just before taking a lot of damage.
Unbreakable Will can allow you to survive delayed spells like Hemoplague, Ace in the Hole, and Requiem.
Unbreakable Will only lasts a few seconds, so be sure to get yourself out of harm's way before the effect ends.
Unbreakable Will does not make you invulnerable. You'll take a lot less damage, but you are not immune to killing blows or massive burst.
Beware of true damage. It can punch straight through your high resistances. Ignite is a common danger, as well as some champion abilities like Hiten Style and Hextech Shrapnel Shells.


Skill Sequence

ABILITY SEQUENCE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18


OR

ABILITY SEQUENCE
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18



It's important to remember that there is no optimal skill order for Alistar. All of his abilities should be used and all of them are more powerful as they level up. Keep in mind that all of Alistar's abilities also cost more mana to cast as they are leveled up.

In general use these two rules to guide you. Remember to always adjust your skill sequence based on your lanemate's needs.

1. Support Build - > > >
Since you won't be doing as much damage, higher levels of Triumphant Roar will help support you and your teammates, especially once you have your Spirit Visage. Keep in mind that this will increase the mana cost of Triumphant Roar, so be careful not to spam it too much.

2. AP Build - > > >
Focus on leveling Headbutt and Pulverize as much as possible to maximize your damage potential. Put a point in Triumphant Roar whenever necessary.

A general rule of thumb to follow when choosing which skill to upgrade is to pick the skill that you use the LEAST but will help the MOST. For example, I often try to keep Triumphant Roar at a low level to keep the mana cost low. I level up Headbutt when possible, because I only use it to harass or kill champions. Headbutt deals the most damage of Alistar's abilities and is the most effective in securing kills. I also keep Pulverize at a low level, as I sometimes need to use it defensively and I don't want to waste mana. Having Triumphant Roar at a low level allows you to use it often without sacrificing mana, healing you, your minions and your lane partner while keeping Trample going. AS SOON AS YOUR ALLY NEEDS IT, level up your heal. Do not bother increasing your heal if you and your ally are barely getting damaged. As soon as your ally becomes so harassed that he/she is forced to play passively, that is when a stronger heal is required.

I see a lot of Alistar guides recommending high levels of Pulverize. I find this to be a very situational choice and is the least beneficial to Alistar's early game. Leveling Pulverize instead of Headbutt will result in less damage and fewer kills. While it is true that Pulverize can hit more targets than Headbutt, you should not be using those abilities to farm, and team fights won't start until later in the game. You can only use your Pulverize- Headbutt combo on ONE enemy, often resulting in ONE kill at a time. I find it more effective to secure a kill on one lane opponent than to try to kill both of them at once, with only a Pulverize for damage. Remember it is much easier for you and your lanemate to finish off one damaged opponent than it is to finish off two. That said, leveling Pulverize will increase its effectiveness, so I often prioritize my offensive abilities in my AP build, leaving Triumphant Roar as low as needed.